Our Recommendations

School Readiness Eligibility Priorities

Pursuant to section 1002.87(1)(c) of the Florida Statutes (F.S.), the ELCHC may reorder School Readiness Priorities 3 through 9 based on the need in the community as illustrated by the data in the community assessment. Based on the information presented in this report we recommend the priorities remain as altered through the 2018 assessment to address the need to support families transitioning from TANF Cash Assistance to the workforce. Offering child care keeps children in consistent care, while helping families maintain employment and become self-sufficient. Additionally, the data in this report shows that there are a significant number of children with IEPs in the county. Although the School District offers educational services to children with special needs, the School Readiness Program can offer additional support to these families. The figure below illustrates our 2018 recommended changes to the School Readiness Eligibility Priorities in Hillsborough County. Priorities 1 and 2 are established by section 1002.87(1)(a) & (b), F.S. Priorities 3 through 9 are the local priorities the ELCHC may reorder.

Given the local, regional and state data available, the ELCHC recommends to maintain the current priorities as listed in the following order.

RECOMMENDED SCHOOL READINESS ELIGIBILITY PRIORITIES

1 A child younger than 13 years old from a family that includes a parent who is receiving temporary cash assistance under chapter 414 and subject to the federal work requirements. 2 An at-risk child younger than 9 years old.

3

A child of a parent who transitions from the work program into employment as described in s. 445.032 from birth to the beginning of the school year for which the child is eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2.

4

A child from birth to the beginning of the school year for which the child is eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2. who is from a working family that is economically disadvantaged, and may include such child’s eligible siblings, beginning with the school year in which the sibling is eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2. until the beginning of the school year in which the sibling is eligible to begin 6th grade, provided that the first priority for funding an eligible sibling is local revenues available to the coalition for funding direct services.

5

A child who has special needs, has been determined eligible as a student with a disability, has a current individual education plan with a Florida school district, and is not younger than 3 years old. A special needs child eligible under this paragraph remains eligible until the child is eligible for admission to kindergarten in a public school under s. 1003.21(1)(a)2. An at-risk child who is at least 9 years old but younger than 13 years old. An at-risk child whose sibling 6 is enrolled in the school readiness program within an eligibility priority category listed in paragraphs (a) and (b) and subparagraph 1. shall be given priority over other children who are eligible under this paragraph. 7 A child of a parent who transitions from the work program into employment as described in s.445.032 who is younger than 13 years old. 8 A child who is younger than 13 years old from a working family that is economically disadvantaged.

9

A child who otherwise meets one of the eligibility criteria in paragraphs (a) and (b) and subparagraphs 1. and 2. but who is also enrolled concurrently in the federal Head Start Program and the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program.

Figure 19 represents the children we served from fiscal years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, in order of our funding priorities. Historically, children had not been served in Priority 9 because a lack of funding has not permitted the ELCHC to serve all priorities. Priority 5 includes special needs children 3 to 5 years old with Individual Education Plan (IEP) and does not require that the guardian be working or in school. Providers serving children in Priority 5 would be paid a Special Needs Rate, which is higher than the typical School Readiness Reimbursement Rate and varies depending on the accommodations made for that child.

Figure 19: Families and Child Data

SR Served by Priorities

Priority 1 (0 - <13)

Priority 2 (0 - 9) Priority 3 (0 - 5) Priority 4 (0 - 5) Priority 5 (3 - 5) Priority 6 (5 - <13)

Priority 7 (5 - <13) Priority 8 (5-<13)

Priority 9 (4) Local Funding Group

Temporary Program - COVID-19 Total Unduplicated Source: ELCHC, June 2020

Priority Description

TANF Recipients At-Risk Transitional Child Care

2018-19 2019-20

420 270 4,313 3,524 180 119

Economically Disadvantaged Special Needs At-Risk (School-Age) 7,829 4

8,197 9 202 282

Transitional (School-Age) 126

80 Economically Disadvantaged (School Age) 5,021 5,583 Enrolled in Head Start & VPK 0 0

Local Funding Essential Service Workers 129 116 735

18,224 18,915

The data in Figure 19 is taken from June 30, 2020. Throughout the year, children can be transferred from one funding priority to another based on eligibility. To see more infomation on how local funding has served children in our community, see page 18.

RECOMMENDATIONS

While the ELCHC is not recommending shifts to the order of our priorities, there are opportunities to improve access to quality care for Hillsborough families within the currently-established priorities.

Building Equitable Quality Infrastructure

One of the clear takeaways from the Early Learning Disparities analysis is the need for additional high quality child care options for School Readiness families in certain areas of Hillsborough County in which demand is present but infrastructure is lacking. In some regions, the cost of child care is significantly higher than others, regardless of quality infrastructure, which could lead to inequitable barriers for families. It is recommend that the ELCHC continues to encourage child care programs to achieve higher quality standards, recruit new quality sites, and construct initiatives that minimize barriers to quality early education.

Contracted Slots

In Fall of 2018, the ELCHC conducted a pilot program that offers infant care contracted slots for four School Readiness Providers in high-poverty ZIP codes 33605, 33602, 33607, 33610, and 33612. The providers that participated increased capacity for infant and toddler care and overall, reported favorable results. Unfortunately, the ELCHC has experienced several technological issues with the Statewide Information System that create barriers with implementing the program, including payment issues. As a result, we recommend phasing out the current contracted slots and not enrolling any new children in the program.

The data presented in this updated report supports the use of contracted slots for specific populations and various geographical areas within the county. For example, contracted slots could be beneficial if: • Paired with an initiative that aims to increase the number of children served in under-served care-levels ELCHC Community Needs Assessment 2021 | Page

(i.e. infants or special needs) • Assigned to providers that are located in geographical areas where a high percentage of families are paying a differential that is above or equal to the median cost • Providers that are in high poverty zip-codes It is recommended that when the technological issues with the Statewide Information System are resolved, the ELCHC should update the Coalition Plan to reflect a new contracted slots program serving one or more of the populations or geographic areas described above.

School Readiness Match Program

We are seeing increasing numbers in the areas of economically disadvantaged priorities. Based on community data, the working poor of our community will need more assistance, especially after the additional setback of the COVID-19 pandemic. The School Readiness Match Program is a potential tool that could help by leveraging local funding sources to serve more children. It provides funds to expand the provision of services to low–income families below federal poverty level. Funding is subject to availability so local matching funds can be derived from governments, employers, charitable foundations, and other sources to expand funds for direct services and increase the number of child care slots. An example a School Readiness Match Program is the ALICE > 150% initiative. It is recommended that the ELCHC continue to pursue funding opportunities through this program.

Supplemental Programs

Providing access to early education through the School Readiness and VPK programs is a great value in the county, however, additional resources can maximize the impact the Coalition can have on our community. The ELCHC has been fortunate to have the opportunity to leverage School Readiness and local funding to support a variety of supplemental programs that meet our community needs. We’ve invested in initiatives to support the early educator workforce through INCENTIVE$ and Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.), increase the capacity and the quality of infant and toddler care through the Hillsborough Infant & Toddler initiative, promote family education through Anytime is 3Ts Time initiative and expand professional development opportunities for educators through the Hillsborough Early Learning Network. Supplemental programs bring a holistic approach to building quality child care infrastructure needed to serve families. It is recommended that the ELCHC continues to invest in such programs and use the information presented in this assessment to investigate prospective initiatives to support the ELCHC’s mission.

Waivers for Child Care Capacity

Increasing access to quality child care can create a ripple effect in the Hillsborough County community. Our society can benefit from the long-lasting effects that a quality education can produce. Early education is more than caring for children while parents work, there is more at stake for our youngest learners. The initiatives and resources outlined in this document only scratch the surface of potential for Hillsborough County: for lifetime success, we must start early. For our community to maximize the return on economic investment that stems from a quality early childhood, a data driven approach to utilizing resources must be used in conjunction with a lens of equity. Data shows that Hillsborough County is a diverse community with a variety of cultures to celebrate. Moving forward as a community, we must always consider the following ideas — who will benefit from this service? Will the delivery of this service meet the needs of the community? For us to correctly answer these questions, we must first identify who we serve and how we serve them.

Based on the work in the Early Learning Disparities analysis, it is recommended that waivers be granted to providers who fall below the contact minimum threshold score who are serving School Readiness children in areas needing child care capacity. Waivers will allow for families to still access child care while the ELCHC and provider work towards improving quality. Data used in this report will guide the waiver process while continuing to promote family access to School Readiness Services.